NBA Free Agency is nearly a week old and players can officially sign contracts now that July Moratorium is over. Many of the big names have already agreed to deals, and while there is still time for some of this to change, we have a good idea of which teams are the biggest winners and losers of free agency. Here are the three teams that are the biggest losers so far:
Indiana Pacers & GM Kevin Pritchard
Indiana was put in a bad spot when Paul George told them he was leaving for the Lakers in free agency next season, but it looked like they were ready to make the best of the situation when the Celtics, Lakers and several other teams were willing to offer a combination of draft picks and promising young players for George.
However, the Pacers passed on those promising offers - and Cleveland's offer of Kevin Love - for Oklahoma City's offer of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. So not only did the Pacers pass on better offers, they also took on Oladipo's terrible contract (four years, $84 million) just so they could, reportedly, send him to a small market in the Western Conference. Bad, bad move.
Any team is going to end up on this list whenever they lose their best player for nothing in free agency. That's the case with Utah, but they could end up being even bigger losers. Boston is trying to offload cap space just to be able to afford the contract they offered Hayward, and Utah is willing to help them in that department via a sign-and-trade.
On the surface, that helps them because it allows them to essentially get something in return for him, likely Jae Crowder. However, there are reports that more players may be included in the deal, including two of Utah's more promising young players in Rodney Hood and Dante Exum. If the Jazz willingly help their best player leave while giving away two other valuable assets, they will be the biggest loser this offseason.
RELATED: The Biggest Winners Of NBA Free Agency So Far
The Pelicans made the trade for DeMarcus Cousins last season in order to pair him with Anthony Davis and compete in the Western Conference. Unfortunately for them, all of their hopes and goals have become much, much harder to achieve thanks to the massive movement of stars to the West. The Timberwolves, Rockets, Thunder and Nuggets all greatly improved thanks to the additions of Jimmy Butler, Chris Paul, George and Paul Millsap respectively, and the Clippers are still really good after re-signing Blake Griffin.
All of that means the Pelicans will have a serious fight to make the playoffs, and if they get there, they'll likely be a bottom three seed. At least they were able to re-sign Jrue Holiday.
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